Amber and Blood - Margaret Weis [97]
“So, Rhys,” said Nightshade, his boots thunking on the stone and causing dust to swirl in small, slithering eddies over the floor like side-winding snakes, “where are we? What is this place?”
“The valley of Neraka,” Rhys replied.
The kender gasped, his eyes going round. “Neraka? The Neraka? The Neraka where the Dark Queen built her dark temple and was going to enter the world? I remember that story! There was a guy with a green jewel in his chest who murdered his sister, only she forgave him and her spirit blocked the Dark Queen’s entry, and she lost the war and the brother came back to his sister and together they blew up the temple and … and this is it!” Nightshade stopped to stare with excitement into one of the black monoliths. “These ugly rocks are pieces of Takhisis’s temple!”
“Mina!” Rhys called out to her.
She didn’t seem to hear him. She was staring fixedly at the rock, seemingly mesmerized. Rhys slowed his pace. He didn’t want to startle or alarm her by accosting her suddenly, without warning.
Meanwhile Nightshade was mulling things over. “Neraka had something to do with the War of Souls, too. That war started when Takhisis became the One God and she was going to keep all the souls imprisoned here. Poor souls. I spoke to a good many of them, you know, Rhys. I was glad for them when the war was over and they were finally free to depart, though the graveyard was awfully lonely after that …”
“Mina,” called Rhys softly.
Motioning for Nightshade to keep back, Rhys walked slowly toward her. The kender caught hold of Atta and both of them stopped, both of them panting in the thin air.
“Neraka. War of Souls. Neraka,” Nightshade muttered. “Oh, yes, now I remember it all! Neraka was where the war started and … Omigod! Rhys!” he shouted. “This is where Mina came to start the War of Souls! Takhisis sent her out of the storm …”
Rhys made a stern, emphatic gesture, and Nightshade gulped and fell silent.
“I guess he already knew that,” the kender said and put his arms around Atta’s neck and held onto her tightly—just in case the dog was scared.
Rhys came up to stand behind Mina.
“Who is she?” Mina demanded, frightened. She pointed at her reflection in the black crystal.
Rhys’s breath caught in his throat. He could not speak. The Mina that stood beside him was the child, Mina, with long red braids and freckles on her nose and guileless eyes of amber. The Mina reflected in the black crystal was the woman of the soul-imprisoning amber eyes, the warrior woman who had been born in this valley, the woman who had worshipped the One God, the Dark God, Takhisis.
Mina flung herself in sudden fury at the black rock, kicking it and beating it with her fists.
Rhys seized hold of her. The sharp rock had already cut her hand. Blood trailed down her arm. He hauled her back from the rock. She jerked free of his grip and stood panting and glaring at the rock, and wiped the blood from her cut onto her dress.
“Why does that woman stare at me like that? I don’t like her! What has she done with me?” Mina cried in anguish.
Rhys tried to soothe her, but he was shaken himself by the sight of the hard-faced, amber-eyed woman gazing back at them from the black crystal.
“Woo boy,” said Nightshade. Coming up to stand beside Rhys, the kender stared at Mina, then he stared at the reflection in the crystal monolith and rubbed his eyes and scratched his head. “Woo boy,” he said again.
Shaking his head in perplexity, he turned to Rhys.
“I hate to add to our problems, especially since they appear to be real doozies, but you should probably know that there’s a large group of minotaur soldiers up on that ridge.”
The kender squinted, shaded his eyes with his hand. “And I know this sounds strange, Rhys, but I think they have an elf with them.”
aldar was plagued by ghosts. Not ghosts of the dead, as during the War of Souls. Ghosts of himself, of his own dead past. Here, in Neraka, Mina had walked into this valley and into his life and forever changed him. He had